Recently, as an external recording device of a computer and an image recording device, a disk device, such as a magnetic disk device, an optical disk device, etc., has been widely used.
The magnetic disk device generally includes a magnetic disk installed in a case, a spindle motor that supports and rotationally drives the magnetic disk, and a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The head gimbal assembly includes a suspension that is attached to a tip end part of an arm, a magnetic head that is supported by the suspension, and a flexure (wiring trace) electrically connected to the magnetic head. The flexure is drawn from a load beam, which is one component of the suspension, to an external side of the suspension. The suspension includes a base plate, which is firmly attached to the tip end of the arm, and the load beam, which is firmly attached to the tip end of the base plate.
Recently, an HGA including a piezoelectric material arranged on the base plate has been provided. When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric material, the piezoelectric material deforms. Due to this movement the load beam swings, and the magnetic head attached to the load beam also swings. Thus, by controlling a voltage applied to the piezoelectric material, the movement of the magnetic head can be controlled.
In the HGA as described above, a flexure is configured as a thin laminated plate. However, due to the thinness, the flexure is highly susceptible to wind generated by rotation of the magnetic disk. When the flexure swings as a result of windage, the entire suspension oscillates, and as a result accurate positioning of the magnetic head may be compromised.